Pitting flexibility and ease against cost and the environment can leave anyone flummoxed. This Christmas tree breakdown can help

Homeowner Elaine Morrison used to love going to a tree farm and picking out a real Christmas tree with her kids. But now that her brood is older, she's made the switch to artificial trees. "I love the artificial trees. I want one in every room," she says. But Mark Rohlfs, owner of Santa & Sons tree farms, says you really don't need another fake thing in the house. "Artificial trees simply don't have the aroma, presence and spirit of a real Christmas tree," he says.

If you're still deciding between a real or artificial tree, take a closer look at the pros and cons of each type.

• Multiple uses. The current economic climate makes artificial trees more appealing to people who want a product that will last several holiday seasons at least.• Flexibility. You can move around each artificial branch according to your design and decorating needs.• Convenience. Storing an artificial tree is much easier than disposing of a real tree. Most tree styles also come prelit, a plus for those who are already crunched for time.

Artificial Tree Cons:

• PVC. Most artificial trees are manufactured with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a nonbiodegradable plastic; they will outlive us all in landfills.• Carbon footprint. Approximately 85 percent of artificial trees are manufactured in China; importing them adds to their carbon footprint.• No fragrance. A huge part of the Christmas tree experience boils down to its smell. Houzz user Cathy, a homeowner in Alberta, Canada, says the lack of smell doesn't bother her too much. "I burn scented candles and bake. The house smells lovely," she says.• Cost. Quality artificial fir and pine trees can sometimes cost as much as $1,800.

• Experience. Most people have a nostalgic attachment to real Christmas trees and see tree picking and decorating as a beloved holiday ritual. And nothing beats the smell of a real tree in the house.• Cost. Rohlfs says that a 7-foot Noble or Douglas fir costs anywhere from $69 to $99; trees bought from home improvement store lots cost as little as $20.• Tree rentals. Tree rental companies like Evergrow and Living Christmas now give you a more responsible way to have a real Christmas tree (live or cut) in the home. You order a tree, they deliver it, and they pick it up and take care of it until the following year; or, in the case of a cut tree, they convert it into biofuel.

Real Tree Cons:

• Inconvenience. Real trees mean fallen needles on the ground, which adds another chore to your holiday list: vacuuming.• Disposal. Landscape designer Matt Kilburn says that it always makes him sad to see trees lining back lanes waiting for garbage pickup right after Christmas. He encourages people to look into their local tree recycling programs and to dispose of their trees responsibly.

Note: Rohlfs stresses the importance of getting real trees from local, family-owned farms. "Support local farming and your tree will stay fresh longer than a tree that's been trucked in from miles and miles away and sitting on a lot, thirsty," he says.

Homeowner Michelle Round says that in the end, "What matters is that we are bringing the magic of the holidays into our home when everything is cold, grim and dull outside. It's about the way we trim and adorn our trees, about how they express our personalities and families — not simply the fact that they smell good."

Tell us: Are you going with a real tree or an artificial tree this year? Share your comments and Christmas tree pictures below and take our poll.

@Becky! I took your advice re stand, etc., and we went with a real one! So happy with it! I'll try and take pics this week and post on here this weekend. The house smells great although I was told by Mark Rohlfs from Santa & Sons that the scent is actually an indication of dehydration, so we're doing our best to keep the tree hydrated.

Hummmm... fake or dead (there is no root ball so this is essentially a dead tree watered to keep it from becoming a fire hazard)... hard decision. I've experienced both and a third option few consider... a live tree. By live I mean with a root ball. When the holidays are over you transplant this rooted tree in a (hopefully) pre dug hole in your yard to be enjoyed for years to come. My brother lives in our old family home which has one of these live trees... I believe it was "planted" in the early 70's so it's a 40 year old tree now, much taller that the typical eight foot ceiling limitation. Fake trees are fine if your in a situation where you could not possibly transplant a live tree... dead trees are for recyclers... but a live tree is for those that want to enjoy that memory for years to come.

A record, so it seems indeed! It still looks pretty good, too! It was a close out at Montgomery Ward, one of their premium models. We take it all apart and put it all back together every year and store it in its special box.

Artificial trees are a total pain to store (gigantic box), assemble and make look real. Seriously, we spent countless time trying to fluff out the fake needles, etc.. Real is the only way to go! The key is to wait until mid December to put up a tree or the it will not look fresh for the entire holiday season.

I used to be adament about a "real" tree. It seemed un-Christmas- like to have an artificial tree. A couple years ago my husband convinced me to buy an artificial tree and it makes so much sense! Nice, live trees are at least $60...the needles make a mess and decorating a live tree always involves fllling in the "space" that is not quite right. Bottom, line, the artificial tree paid for itself and I always have the "perfect" tree shape for my space. I do get "real" branches for centerpieces or wreaths.

If you love a real cut tree but hate the needle drop, I have the solution. Before you bring the tree home, go to the pharmacy & purchase a bottle of glycerin. When the tree comes home, do a fresh cut of the trunk. The first drink should be half glycerin & half water. Just water the tree normally from then on. Your needles will stay on the tree, fresh & pliable. It's almost a miracle & clean up is a breeze!

We always had a real tree, one year Mom had two, and when she was on her own and didn't want to do a big tree, she got a live tabletopper. I have my own home now and bought first ever artificial, pre-lit tree (6.5ft) on sale after Xmas earlier this year. My Mom passed away several months ago and haven't wanted to celebrate the holidays, but I decided to put up my new tree for her. The artificial is not the same as real, but I'm known to kill even plastic plants, so a fake tree is right for me. The pre-lit is great and they did a good job, it's got a lot of holes and I haven't mastered how to make it fuller and I'm still working on my ornament collection, but it adds a nice glow to my living room. Although I have to pat myself on the back for the tree topper, I wanted to do a big bow like Mom used to do, but the bow-maker at Michaels craft store wasn't in. Instead, I bought a bunch of different colored glittery faux leaf and ball type stick things like in picture #3 and arranged them as a tree topper, turned out great!

i have a hand me down fake tree from my mother....it was easily from the 1990s. I have been meaning to upgrade but cannot find a new tree that looks as nice in color, shape, needle/branch size - it is still in great condition so i think i will stick with it.

I have a cat and a 2 year old...fake all the way. Plus 2 years ago, I had baby preying mantis hatch out of my live tree....THEY WERE EVERYWHERE! Much to my husband's dismay, I have sworn off the live tree experience.

We go with a real tree!! Here in northern Alberta Canada our family tradition is to every year go out tree hunting in the bush and cut one down ourselves! We have a wiener roast with hot chocolate and search for the perfect tree! It only costs $5 for a tree permit to get up to 3 trees so we go with 3 families so that's pretty cheap! We plant a tree every year so it makes up for the missing one in the bush! The experience is so much fun!

I'd love to get a real tree but I'm allergic. :( The church I used to attend was beautifully decorated with a live tree and garlands. Those festive decorations meant that I couldn't attend during the most fun time of the year.

I used to be a live tree girl, but when the only place to put it in my new house was at the base of the only exit from the top floor, I reluctantly went with artificial. I've seen how fast a real tree becomes a fire bomb and there'd be no way to exit the bedrooms with that at the base of the stairs. Now that I'm moving, I'm donating the original (which was the best I could afford at the time), and will buy a pre-lit one next Xmas. When you reuse them for years, the carbon footprint issue goes way down, and I don't see tossing it unless there's something wrong with it. The last one worked for me for 15 years.

I have an artificial tree that is really skinny so it that works well in our small house, a real one is simply too big. I agree that storing it is an issue (did I mention the small house) but it is not so bad as the box is pretty small. As far as smell, I found pine scented icicles that I hung on the tree and it smells great. I also light pine scented candles to add to the aroma.

We always had a "real" Christmas tree when I was growing up, and so tradition reigns. Usually at the end of the season, when I'm cleaning all the fallen needles and taking down the tree, I think about getting an artificial one for next year. But the hunt for the perfect tree each year is part of the holiday tradition for us, and I do love the scent it brings into the house. Living in the country, the discarded tree into the woods only adds to the animals' shelter, so is not a problem.
I think for now, at least until I'm too old to carry an 8 ft. tree in and out, I'll stick with a "real" tree.

We live in South Australia & choose our tree from a farm in nearby Aldgate. I expect our trees are rather different than your Northern Hemisphere trees. We decorated it today & it smells divine. Considering that its summer here we have to water it daily but by the time its dried out it will be winter & ready to burn.
We will always go genuine over plastic.

I remember when I was a little girl the people next door to us had an aluminum tree. They had a flood light shining in it that rotated different colors. I was fascinated. This year we have a fake pre-lit 4 1/2 ft tree. It's just perfect for the 2 of us.

I know it's hard to believe but Louisiana’s wetlands are being lost at the rate of approximately one football field every 38 minutes. These fragile ecosystems support 25 percent of the nation’s total commercial fishing. In Louisiana each year unflocked used Christmas trees are collected and placed in cribs made of poles and woven willow where they are stacked to break wave action and trap sediment. This effort involves volunteers of all ages. While this has a modest impact on wetland erosion it has contributed greatly to public awareness of the problem and it's a far better fate for a used Christmas tree than being incinerated or placed in a landfill.

After many years of real trees (bought local!) and my youngest child being sick until May, her ENT gave us the news: Christmas was literally making her sick! Molds etc on the fresh-cut tree were setting up a downward 'health' spiral. We went over to a pre-lit artificial tree, good 'post holiday' health and have never looked back!

I'm with Judy: a SMALL fake tree. This year we bought one that was also predecorated! I use my favorite ornaments in other ways--in bowls, hanging from some modern wire sculptures and on top of bookcases. We have a new kitten this year, so EVERYTHING needs to be up high where she can't reach it. Still lots of Christmas spread around the house.

I'm a devotee of mid-century modern and recall my parents' silver aluminum xmas tree from 1964, so I purchased an old one just like it and we use that every year. Sometimes we use the rotating color wheel; the year we're not. We have allergies and asthma in my family, so a real pine tree just doesn't work for us.
Plus, I'd rather a tree be a living tree in the ground instead of being chopped down and then discarded after a month...

I have had both fake & real, I prefer real..since my son was about 3yrs old we would go to the local tree farm and hunt for the perfect tree. he use to love doing this and as he got older along with my husband they would cut the tree down together. Two yrs ago we bought a 6ft pre lit tree because I was going thu chemo due to Breast Cancer and could not go out to pick a tree. We've used it twice and now it sit's in the basement in it's box because I wanted to be able to go out and hunt for the perfect tree with my family. We will keep the fake tree who know's I might put two trees up next year :) or give the fake to a family who can't afford to buy one.

I love real trees, but after buying and erecting 9 foot trees year after year in a heavy old iron stand (a 3-person job) I developed an allergy to the mold/pollen of the tree, which meant my partner was alone string the 3000 lights. Guilt and aging prompted the move to an artificial pre-lit tree. It saves us days and is so easy to put up! Of course, the 5 bins of ornaments still take about 10 hours to put on, but my stepmother helps and we make an afternoon of it. I have an aroma-izer that I put fir oil and a little orange oil in. Smells nice! and I also put live greens on the mantle and around the house.

My brother in law is a fireman. The fire hazard is way more dangerous than most people are aware of, and nothing to be complacent about, even on a fresh cut tree. If you are going to have a real tree, (He would tell you not to) make sure you have an exit plan in place, and a fire extinguisher near by. Never use anything (even in glass) with a real flame near a live tree. Never leave your tree lights on when you are not present. Make sure the tree you buy is fresh, with needles that spring back when you ruffle them. Make sure your live tree is drinking water every day! Never put your real tree near a fireplace!! Having said all that, I also still choose to enjoy a real tree, and a fake one. I love them both. Merry Christmas tree lovers!

Those are gorgeous tress. That first one seems like it would be great in Florida with all the citrus. Love it. We haven't had a tree for 22 years due to having young cats every year. We no longer have rescued kittens but one of our youngest adolescents is a trouble maker and would love nothing more than to destroy a Christmas tree we try to put up. However, next year we are going to give it a shot and see what happens. Kitty Kitten better be calmed down by then. LOL I love the look of any well decorated tree but you can't beat the smell and feel of a real tree. I saw the neatest device that is a self waterer for a tree and I'll invest in one of those when I put my tree up next year. Keeping a fresh tree well watered is imperative.

The preying mantis is an event my cats would "pray" to happen. I hear some people mentioning mold spores and allergies and now that is something I'll need to consider before getting a live tree next year. Since having a tree 22 years ago I've been diagnosed with mold spore allergy. Never even thought about the impact a fresh tree in the house could have. I know hay and grass drive me crazy though. LOL

Such gorgeous trees y'all have posted.. Makes me want to run out and get one now!!!

Our family used to go the real route, even going out and chopping the perfect one down, until one year, after we had brought the perfect tree in, set it up and decorated it, that we found out it was the coyotes' bathroom! We could not get the smell out for weeks.

Now that I'm grown up, I have my own white fake tree, which I got on sale after Christmas for $10. I inherited my grandmother's mid-century ornaments with all the pretty colors and the white tree really makes them pop.

We actually just added a second artificial tree. The first tree is a white flocked tree and is still beautiful after 30 years. Since my husband was a little tired of that one, we purchased a new one online last year (took advantage of the after Christmas sales) and it is gorgeous! I still kept the 30 year old tree, though and it is downstairs in our family room in all its glory!

Here in Melbourne (Australia) we have totally different weather and light conditions, so the need to 'bring the outdoors in' may not be as relevant. I've had my artificial tree since 1996, and it's still going strong. It's too hot over here to want to lug a real tree into the house. But I admit, the smell of a real tree is divine.

For years I would not even consider a FAKE tree and then came the year when we were to be away and I was presented with the ultimatum artificial or none.......Never looked back. Though I do miss the scent do not miss the mess. And I love the way the garland can be added in a way that approaches perfection. Nothing worse than a convert!

Recently moved to a property with many manzanita trees, plan to cut one down, strip bark & twigs, stick it in concrete and move it inside. A few Christmas ornaments and one string of lights perhaps, plan to leave it inside year round. Anybody ever done this that wants to talk me out of it? Unconventional perhaps, but to me that's a good thing....

I grew up with real trees...fake ones were unheard of until the advent of the aluminum tree. I think you have to go with what works for you. When I married and we bought a house with a very large great room, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pay the price for the size live tree we would need every year so I bought a very large fake one and loved it! Payed for itself in 2 years and lasted for 12! Through the years since then I've done both live and fake.

When I moved to a smaller home, I opted for a fake slim style tree. Last year was a tough year and I didn't do a tree at all. This year I started my usual decorating the tree and decided I hated it. I wanted a "happy" tree. New colors and all the family ornaments. Makes me smile each time I see it! And I love the pot that reminds me of Dr. Seuss for some reason!

$1800 for an artificial and $69-99 for a Balsam fir?? Not sure where those figures were from, but we always cut a tree down ourselves from a local farm and it costs $25 (higher than it used to be). I've grown up with real trees and can never see myself making the switch to artificial. We also bought a great tree stand last year, and that is a real marriage saver! But even the hassle of them and the cursing setting them up is worth it in the end.

Some trees have an abundance of decorations on them, it is actually hard to spot the tree underneath. Then it is really not necessary to worry about whether real or fake. We had our fake tree since 2000 that we bought in a supermarket in Muscat, Oman and we used it every year since. Now that we are living in Holland we just purchased a real tree and the children really got excited about the wonderful aroma coming from it. They could only remember the artificial one and they prefer the real. I just wonder how long it will stay nice!

We've always had a tall real cut tree AND a smaller LIVING tree in a pot which we would refer to as "The Children's Tree" (It usually stood about 4 ft. high) After Christmas each year we would plant the Children's tree in our front or back yard. Each following Christmas we would decorate those same trees in our yard with lights. Our oldest tree is 24 years old now....and VERY tall. Dressing them up for Christmas reminds us of happy Holiday seasons past....and how the trees and our children have grown!

I had real trees my whole life, until we started traveling for Christmas. The thought of leaving a real tree unattended for a week was just too scary. I kept imagining coming home to a burnt house. The fake ones may be a landfill problem but I can't see replacing it for 10-15 years or more.

Just moved into a new house with a 16' living room ceiling. The old 7.5' tree would have disappeared in that room. A real tree would have cost a fortune (I checked) and how would you get it home? (That article was off the mark. I found artificial trees priced in excess of 3500.00!! Prices take huge jumps for every foot over 8') This 12' tree came from Lowes. Good price, pre-lit and very full with various types of branch tips. It takes awhile to set up the first time but the next time should be much faster. I decided to buy a few new larger ornaments for the bottom but everything is on sale 1/2 off or more early in December. For a pine aroma, live branches can be used all over the house! If that's not enough, get out your pine scented cleaner!!

After years of wonderful memories at the tree lots I converted to artificial when we learned my daughter and husband's sneezing and sniffling at Christmas was due to allergies. I miss the hunt for "the" tree but love our wonderful fun artificial tree. Candles and sprays help recreate the tree smell that I love.

I feel sad seeing the trees cut down, and I love artificial trees. Couldn't find a white tree like from my childhood, so found a little silver tree that we love. I sometimes imagine if only live trees in pots were sold and everyone planted their Christmas tree at the end of the season. I actually moved my potted Christmas tree here that got too big to go in the house and will plant it here. People are so into conserving napkins at cafes, but it is in vogue to cut down trees for decoration. Funny.

I loved live cut trees while I was growing up - their scent, my brother and I decorating it and than 'showing' to our parents; but when I got married we went for live (potted) tree that we planted in the garden after holidays; since we came to South Africa that option was out of question - we were renting, the heat here kills even less 'northern' climate plants, and I could not find anything that really looked like European pine trees..so I opened account in one of the better stores that had amazing fake tress, paid for it over 6 months and it still looks fabulous like in 1995 when i got it!!
Ornaments are those that matter to me (I have some from my father's childhood) and I look for them in junk, SPCA and hospice shops all year around - those small, glass ones - new are so few to find here and often distastefully large!! And when I want to change the colour, I take plain plastic ones and decorate them myself...for my tree and for all my friends..Oh, and I have second, white tree with pink for our small guest room, and tiny one for my kitchen corner... and two white feather one (quite small) for my office, and three made of red coconut fiber for our show room (company colours being red and white..) I love taking them out of the boxes and decorating..it brings back nicest childhood memories..

My husband built me a tree "box" its about 1 and half feet tall, out of ply wood. It lifts any tree and gives the illusion that it way taller. It has two levels and I cover the whole thing with a beautiful gold velvet skirt. You can't tell it not all tree, especially when the gifts are there. Our six foot tree looks like almost nine by the time its on the box and I top it off with cat tails, feathers and sticks. Saves some money and don't need as many decorations!

For me, it has to be an artificial tree. It's not because of the convenience, but due to the fact that I have an allergy to various real trees. The last real tree I purchased caused my arms to immediately break out in hives. I'm also not crazy about the care requirements for real trees such as checking the water level, cleaning up needles off the floor, and worrying if one of my daughters could have the same allergy.

I'm a real Christmas tree kind of girl. I buy it from the local charity Christmas tree tents the day they come out (usually the week before Thanksgiving) I take it home and put it in a bucket of water until I am ready to put it up. I have a great choice of trees when I go early and since I put it in water as soon as I get it till I am ready to put it up, it stays green and fresh till after New Years. I would rather support tree farmers in the USA who grow trees for years and replant as they cut them down than a company half way around the world. It just make sense to me to buy USA when I can. Plus they smell good! I have concrete floors so the few needles that fall are easy to sweep up. I have a pond in my back yard so I tie a rock to both ends of it and throw it into the deep end of the pond to give my fish a habitat when I am done with it. It's a win win, the charity makes money, US family tree farmers sell another tree, my tree lasts for over a month, I don't have to drag it in and out of the attic, my fish get an extra habitat, and I have a real tree that smells like Christmas.

I'm a firm believer in 'to each his own' as far as the real vs fake tree debate. I have a fake, pre-lit, flocked tree that I put up the day after Thanksgiving when I can't wait another minute to decorate. It's in the master bedroom and I love to look at it all light up from my bed. Closer to Christmas we cut down our large (usually about 12 ft) real tree at a local farm. The smell is wonderful and I don't mind the needles so much because it's in our great room right by the door. Hard wood floors and no carpet make clean up easier. My daughter has a small sparkly pink and orange tree in her room. I even have a green ceramic tree from the 70's that my grandmother made in my green bathroom!

We get a Frazier fir from a tree farm every year. Anything under 7 feet is $40. The good pre-cut ones are almost that much, but they don't last nearly as long. Frazier firs don't drop their needles, and they last a good five or six weeks if you cut them fresh and get them put in water as soon as you're home. The advantage is that our cats tried to eat the artificial tree but they steer clear of the real ones. I don't really know why.

As much as I love real trees, my husband hates them with a passion because he hates trying to get them into the standup and have them stay upright all season. (We had a few too many CRAAAASH! moments at 3am.) So we have an artificial. We had a green artificial for 15 years, then replaced it with a white. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that a white tree in a garage would turn brown... Then I wanted to replace it with a silver tree and could not find a single silver tree in this area. Ended up going with a white one again instead.

Using the aluminum twirling tree with rotating color light again. It's been used almost for the past 50 years and is still in the orginal box . My partners family bought in in the late 50's or early 60's. We call it the ultimate sustainable tree.

The sad thing about live trees is that the poor thing spent 5 to 7 years to grow, at least, and then it's cut down, used for three weeks and praised as though it's the second coming and then discarded as if it never meant a thing. Whereas with a artificial tree, you spend roughly the same amount of money, or less if you buy post X-mas, and you use it for years. The alternative is to grow a tree in a pot and when it gets too big to manage, you put it in a nice spot to live it's long life. And then, you start with a new, smaller tree, in a decorative pot. And the cycle of Christmas madness will start again.

I use to use real. The aroma was great. Then I got indoor cats. They loved climbing to trunk of it and pulled the entire tree down. So artificial now. They just lye underneath. I buy the scent spray of Christmas and spray around it and throughout the house. They allow me to put on thousands lights without burning down the house. Plus they have perfect shape. Mine comes in 3 pieces. I leave my lights on and put the three tiers in boxes. So no hassle of restringing next year. I like that idea.

Any ideas of how I can create the 'frost' look on my fake tree? I bought it a couple of years ago from Canadian Tire and it was one of those that had the fake heavily frosted look, but over the years there is less and less of the frost. I tried a can of the Fake Snow but it made a helluva mess, especially if someone walked by too close or brushed against a branch ... flakes everywhere. I also tried painting the needles with white water-based paint. I was desperate, but only tried it on a small area. Would not recommend this, it looks like painted needles not frosted needles. Anyway, if anyone has any helpful suggestions or a product they could recommend I would really appreciate it.

I had my parents' artificial tree for many years. I just bought a new one and the base is high off the ground. Does anyone have ideas for decorating under the tree so it doesn't look so high off the ground? I don't have any presents yet under it. I could wrap some big empty boxes and put under it. Any other suggestions?

My family always used to get real trees until I dated a guy whose father farmed an apple orchard. They also had a fake tree. His father was horrified that anyone would kill a tree for such a short time of enjoyment indoors. I have had artificial trees ever since. Unexpected bonus: my children love to say "goodnight till next Christmas" to our tree as we tuck it away and pull out the bunnies instead of crying when we have to take it out and throw it away. It is kind of sad to see an old dried out real tree and know you've taken a life -- even if it was only a tree. Eternal thanks to my ex's father for making me understand the value of a beautiful tree's life.

Is this the comment section for Xmas trees?...oh well, whatever...what I want to say is this. Real Trees are like real deer or other wildlife. It's nicer to see them out in the wild rather than shooting them so as to have horns on your bathroom wall or to have a tree that spent years struggling to survive in all conditions only to be cut down in the prime of it's life , be admired for 3 weeks and then discarded on a curb or burned in a bonfire. When you can just as easily get a large pot, place a young 4' tree in it, watch it grow, use it every xmas until it gets too big for your home and then plant it outside...TREES are what give us oxygen...the world is now officially over-populated. Cutting down trees isn't doing anybody any good. Cutting down trees just because you like the scent...is stupid. Get a nice fake one and buy an organic pine aerosol or just use fallen pine cones...they give off a pine scent for weeks all on their own. One thing...there is a vast difference between a fake tree and a REALLY GOOD fake tree...don't be a cheapskate, spring for the extra expensive fake tree. If you're still griping about the money wait until after X-mas and buy them when they are 50% less expensive. Just stop chopping down trees. Most of you don't even live in the country anyway. And stop popping out babies...the world is 2 billion too many as of right now. In one hundred years the world population since 1913 has jumped from 1.9 billion inhabitants to 7.3 billion inhabitants !!...Don't tell me thats not a major problem.

This is what I do to remedy to the smell of a real tree, with an artificial one in place. By placing real tree branches throughout the inside of the tree. I have the kind of artificial that you stack on top if one another, three parts. Makes it easy to place the tree boughs. Like someone said, what make the smell is the tree drying out. So here you go, best of both worlds.... Merry Christmas!

I love the smell of the pine perfume in my home from the live tree. I opted for a good looking artificial tree for the last couple of years as my country's economy is in recession. The live trees are imported, expensive and are bought with scarce foreign currency.

On this site, the Houzz site, type into the search box... Balsam Hill...they are premier manufacturers of Christmas trees, wreaths,garlands etc. They make every type of tree known to man and you'd be hard pressed to tell one of their trees from a real one. Simply put, they are the very best and gorgeous and will outlive you and your grandkids! How's that for sustainable?

Last year I thought I wanted the perfect tall slim tree. I bought an artificial tree last year on sale, but my husband convinced me to take it back. We have tree growers in NH. It is an industry here and creates money and jobs for the locals. I am trying to buy everything I can made locally and not from China. Even my Christmas cards have to be printed in the US. So no fake trees from China for me.

I'm a fresh-cut tree kind of guy! It brings back so many great memories from childhood - going with family friends to lot after lot just to find the perfect tree and then rushing home just in time for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I feel good about supporting regional tree farmers (most are small mom and pop operations). My community recycles the trees into mulch. Many folks put them in ponds and lakes (they make terrific fish habitat). Its part of our cultural heritage that should be nurtured and perpetuated. I certainly don't judge folks that use artificial trees, but please spare me the PC nonsense! As the article points out, most artificial trees are made in China using PVC. To each his or her own. Merry Christmas to all!